וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל לִבּוֹ עַתָּה אֶסָּפֶה יוֹם אֶחָד בְּיַד שָׁאוּל אֵין לִי טוֹב כִּי הִמָּלֵט אִמָּלֵט אֶל אֶרֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּים וְנוֹאַשׁ מִמֶּנִּי שָׁאוּל לְבַקְשֵׁנִי עוֹד בְּכָל גְּבוּל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְנִמְלַטְתִּי מִיָּדוֹ

David said in his heart: Although I have escaped Saul’s clutches over and over again, on each occasion I took advantage of unusual circumstances. Now, one day I will perish at the hand of Saul, as he will certainly continue to pursue me. Consequently, there is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines; and then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer throughout the borders of Israel, and I will escape from his hand.

וַיָּקָם דָּוִד וַיַּעֲבֹר הוּא וְשֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר עִמּוֹ אֶל אָכִישׁ בֶּן מָעוֹךְ מֶלֶךְ גַּת

David rose, and he and the six hundred men who were with him crossed to Akhish son of Maokh, king of Gat. On the previous occasion, David had fled to this place as a lone, defenseless individual. Now he moves to Gat accompanied by a military unit that serves as a sort of gift or promise. No longer can he be immediately dismissed. Furthermore, this time he has the chance to explain that he is being persecuted by Saul, and he is seeking refuge with Akhish. It can be assumed that he offered his assistance to Akhish and made a covenant or some sort of formal agreement with him.

וַיֵּשֶׁב דָּוִד עִם אָכִישׁ בְּגַת הוּא וַאֲנָשָׁיו אִישׁ וּבֵיתוֹ דָּוִד וּשְׁתֵּי נָשָׁיו אֲחִינֹעַם הַיִּזְרְעֵאלִית וַאֲבִיגַיִל אֵשֶׁת נָבָל הַכַּרְמְלִית

David dwelled with Akhish in Gat, he and his men, each man and his household, David himself lived there and his two wives: Ahino’am the Yizre’elite, who was apparently his first wife from his period of wandering, and Avigayil the Carmelite, who had formerly been the wife of Naval.

וַיֻּגַּד לְשָׁאוּל כִּי בָרַח דָּוִד גַּת וְלֹא יָסַף עוֹד לְבַקְשׁוֹ

It was told to Saul that David had fled to Gat, and he did not continue to seek him, as Saul’s authority did not extend to the land of the Philistines.

וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל אָכִישׁ אִם נָא מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ יִתְּנוּ לִי מָקוֹם בְּאַחַת עָרֵי הַשָּׂדֶה וְאֵשְׁבָה שָּׁם וְלָמָּה יֵשֵׁב עַבְדְּךָ בְּעִיר הַמַּמְלָכָה עִמָּךְ

David said to Akhish: Please, if I have found favor in your eyes, let them, your subjects, give me a place in one of the small cities in the countryside, and I will dwell there. Why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you? Gat was the capital of the province under Akhish’s control, and perhaps the capital city of the entire Philistine kingdom. The nature of the relationships between the various Philistine lords is unclear. In principle, they enjoyed equal status, but it is possible that Akhish was considered the senior ruler, which is why he bore the title of king. Akhish’s superior position might have been due to Gat’s source of income. Unlike the other Philistine cities, whose economies were based mainly on sea products, Gat’s economy was based on agriculture and raiding other territories, thanks to the city’s location. For this reason, the city maintained greater ties with the neighboring nations. In any case, David’s presence in the capital city was uncomfortable both for its Philistine residents and for David himself and his men.

וַיִּתֶּן לוֹ אָכִישׁ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא אֶת צִקְלָג לָכֵן הָיְתָה צִקְלַג לְמַלְכֵי יְהוּדָה עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה

Akhish gave him Tziklag on that day. Although Tziklag was a city in the inheritance of Judah, since the Philistines were more powerful than the Israelites they succeeded in conquering parts of the territories of Judah and Dan, and perhaps even areas further north. Therefore, as it was given to David, Tziklag remains a private inheritance that has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. Even many years later, after the Philistines had suffered many defeats and had certainly retreated from the region, Tziklag was never reincorporated within the portion of Judah, but remained a royal city.

וַיְהִי מִסְפַּר הַיָּמִים אֲשֶׁר יָשַׁב דָּוִד בִּשְׂדֵה פְלִשְׁתִּים יָמִים וְאַרְבָּעָה חֳדָשִׁים

The number of the days that David resided in the Philistine countryside was one year [yamim] and four months. The translation of yamim as a year follows Radak, citing certain versions of Targum Yonatan. Others maintain that in this context yamim means a few days.

וַיַּעַל דָּוִד וַאֲנָשָׁיו וַיִּפְשְׁטוּ אֶל הַגְּשׁוּרִי וְהַגִּזְרִי וְהָעֲמָלֵקִי כִּי הֵנָּה יֹשְׁבוֹת הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר מֵעוֹלָם בּוֹאֲךָ שׁוּרָה וְעַד אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם

David and his men went forth, while they were living in Tziklag, and they raided the Geshurites, the Gizrites, and the Amalekites, for they were the original inhabitants of the land. These small nations did not live in permanent settlements, but had always sojourned south of the biblical borders of the land of Judah, as you come to Shur, in the south of the Negev (see 15:7), until the land of Egypt.

וְהִכָּה דָוִד אֶת הָאָרֶץ וְלֹא יְחַיֶּה אִישׁ וְאִשָּׁה וְלָקַח צֹאן וּבָקָר וַחֲמֹרִים וּגְמַלִּים וּבְגָדִים וַיָּשָׁב וַיָּבֹא אֶל אָכִישׁ

David smote the inhabitants of the land, and did not leave man or woman alive, and he took sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and garments. David and his men would conquer these places, leaving behind no living soul, and they would plunder all the property. And he returned after each of his raids, and came to Akhish. Presumably, David gave the king of Gat a share of his spoils.

וַיֹּאמֶר אָכִישׁ אַל פְּשַׁטְתֶּם הַיּוֹם וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד עַל נֶגֶב יְהוּדָה וְעַל נֶגֶב הַיְּרַחְמְאֵלִי וְאֶל נֶגֶב הַקֵּינִי

Akhish said: Where did you raid today? David said: The south of the land of Judah, the south of the Yerahme’elite, a family from the tribe of Judah or the south of the Kenite, the descendants of Yitro. These areas belonged to Judah, either to members of the tribe itself, or to families that had joined the tribe.

וְאִישׁ וְאִשָּׁה לֹא יְחַיֶּה דָוִד לְהָבִיא גַת לֵאמֹר פֶּן יַגִּדוּ עָלֵינוּ לֵאמֹר כֹּה עָשָׂה דָוִד וְכֹה מִשְׁפָּטוֹ כָּל הַיָּמִים אֲשֶׁר יָשַׁב בִּשְׂדֵה פְלִשְׁתִּים

David would not leave any man or woman alive to bring to Gat as captives from those places, saying: Lest they tell about us, saying: So did David do, and so has been his practice all the days that he dwelled in the Philistine countryside. They would reveal that they were not from David’s nation, and Akhish would understand that in all his raids David had never harmed the children of Israel, only other peoples.

וַיַּאֲמֵן אָכִישׁ בְּדָוִד לֵאמֹר הַבְאֵשׁ הִבְאִישׁ בְּעַמּוֹ בְיִשְׂרָאֵל וְהָיָה לִי לְעֶבֶד עוֹלָם

Akhish believed David, saying: He has rendered himself abhorrent to his people, to Israel. David has permanently ruined his relations with his native people. Since he can never return to them, he must remain with me, and he shall be to me an eternal servant. Akhish did not pay David and his men as mercenaries, but he benefited from their raids. He mistakenly thought that David had been forced to defect to the Philistine side and would never be able to go back to Israel.